“I knew we could, I really did,” said Lawrence coach Dana Williams when asked if her second-seeded Cardinals could dominate sixth-seeded Notre Dame the way it did, taking a 58-34 win Wednesday afternoon in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals at Mercer County Community College.

“We all went and watched them play Ewing,” Williams continued. “I said if we could go out and play our game, I loved our match-ups. At the beginning of the season we were fouling a ton, we weren’t playing with a good head on our shoulders. I thought the composure today was the difference.”

The victory put Lawrence (19-5) into the MCT finals at Rider University for the first time in school history, and also avenged a 57-40 loss to Lawrence Township rival Notre Dame in December.

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“I re-watched the game when we played them the third game of the season and I had to turn it off,” Williams said. “It’s not even us anymore.I watched 10 minutes and thought, ‘We’ll be fine.’ That just wasn’t us the first three games.”

It was all Lawrence in this one, as the Cardinals took a 6-0 lead and just extended the advantage from that point.

“It was pretty amazing,” said senior guard Daphne Ginn, who led all scorers with 21 points and added five rebounds.“I guess it was just the determination of the game and the excitement. I just really wanted our team to start out strong.

“When you have that confidence and the shots just start going in, you can do anything. The shots were just going in and it was great.”

The Cards led 19-4 after the first quarter as Notre Dame (16-8) victimized itself with 11 turnovers. Ginn had 12 points during that time.

“The energy of the game made us just start out very well,” Ginn said. “I think our team really prepared. We’ve improved so much since the beginning. Our first game against Notre Dame we were just getting in synch. Our improvement just showed over the whole season.”

The lead improved over the course of the game, as Lawrence took a 30-13 advantage at halftime and a 46-23 lead after the third quarter. The Cards largest advantage was 48-23.

“I’m so proud of Daphne Ginn and Amirah Brown,” said Williams, who termed this her greatest win. “They just were taking the lead out there. “

Brown had nine points for the Cardinals, Marisa Visco added eight points and 11 rebounds, while Brooke West and Morgan Downs had eight points each.

A big difference maker was Lawrence’s experience against Notre Dame’s youth, as the Irish have leaned on freshmen and sophomores for most of the season. Conversely, Lawrence’s top six in the rotation are seniors.

“Notre Dame and Allentown are going to be phenomenal next year,” Williams said. “They both have very young squads. My seniors won four games their freshman year.

“Experience is a huge aspect, but also how much my seniors improved over the years. Being a senior doesn’t mean much unless you improve, and my kids did.”

And now it’s on to Rider for the championship game.

“Yeah, it’s a home game,” Williams said with a laugh. “This is awesome. It’s incredible. I couldn’t be happier for these kids. They’re so deserving. It’s fun for me to see their faces out there and to go along for a the ride.”